
Americas
List of Americas articles

Mexico’s Succession Race Kicks Off
AMLO’s party is riding high—but hasn’t yet picked a nominee for next year’s election.

Solving the Mystery of Henry Kissinger’s Reputation
The former secretary of state is a genius—just not at what you might think.

Are We Back to Nuclear Brinkmanship for Good?
It’s not just Putin who has re-embraced nuclear threats. The U.S. and China are also cracking open the door.

Denialists Are Blaming Anything but Climate for Canada’s Fires
With cities wreathed in smoke, conspiracy theories grow.

How Europe Is Navigating a Fraught U.S.-China Relationship
“We shouldn’t expect coherence on China policy when the United States is inherently incoherent on it.”

Why Beijing Won’t Engage With Washington
Mismatched perceptions are leading China to rebuff the Biden administration’s outreach.

How to Regulate AI
Biden’s former top tech policymaker explains how guardrails around technology should work.

6 Swing States Will Decide the Future of Geopolitics
These middle powers of the global south should be the focus of U.S. policy.

Adam Tooze: Why Nvidia Is Soaring
The AI chip company’s value has tripled in less than a year.

The Battle for Eurasia
China, Russia, and their autocratic friends are leading another epic clash over the world’s largest landmass.

Is Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ Factual or Farcical?
A former U.S. ambassador, an Iran expert, a Libya expert, and a former U.K. Conservative Party advisor weigh in.

The Bomb Was Horrifying. The Alternatives Would Have Been Worse.
Historical records show that dropping atomic bombs was the least bad option.

The U.S. Needs to Get Out of the Way on China
Washington should start letting other countries take the lead.

South American Presidents Come to Lula’s Party, but Check His Leadership
In Brasília, leaders weighed how to make continental cooperation more durable after a past attempt sputtered.

Diplomacy and Foreign Aid Funding Caught In Debt Ceiling Web
Programs aimed at countering China aren’t getting extra cash.

The U.S. Ups the Ante in Bangladesh
A coercive visa policy aims to bolster democracy ahead of the country’s elections next January.

The Indo-Pacific Has Already Chosen Door No. 3
So-called fence-sitters are rejecting zero-sum geopolitical binaries in favor of multi-alignment.

U.S. Border Chaos Leaves Migrants Fatally Vulnerable
The expiration of Title 42 has spiked a rise in theft and murder along the Darién Gap.

The Debt Ceiling Deal Highlights America’s Warped Priorities
By failing to invest in its own people, the United States shows the world the shakiness of the foundations of its power.

Who Will Make the Chips?
The U.S. is betting billions on its semiconductor push, but it needs more people for the factory floors.

Putin Wants You to Think He’s an Anti-Woke Crusader
By pitching himself as a hero to the U.S. right, he’s taking a page from the 1960s North Vietnamese playbook to undermine support for Ukraine.

How Chile’s Politics Are Shaping the Global Energy Transition
Chile’s rightward lurch is an opportunity to expand the supply of lithium, a critical battery resource.

Guatemala’s Anti-Corruption Star Dims
Once a laboratory for U.S.- and U.N.-backed anti-corruption efforts, the country is now backsliding.

Republican Foreign Policy vs. Everybody
The 2024 hopefuls are taking on all comers: China, the “woke mob,” and the alleged “deep state.”

ASEAN and the Quad Inch Closer Together
Southeast Asian skepticism toward the foursome is softening.

Solar Geoengineering Is Coming. It’s Time to Regulate It.
There is no comprehensive international governance for solar radiation modification. There needs to be.

U.S. Apathy Paved the Way for China in Africa
Despite a strong foothold during the Cold War, Washington has since fumbled on the continent.

Sugar as Modern Capitalism’s Original Sin
A new book shows its history as anything but sweet.

Domestic Division Is Dragging Down U.S. Indo-Pacific Policy
U.S. allies are feeling neglected thanks to chaos in Washington.

Lasso’s Last Resort
For the second time in six months, an Andean president has dissolved Congress.

How to Understand Brazil’s Ukraine Policy
Like it or not, Lula’s stance reflects legitimate misgivings about the global order.

What Israel Can Teach the U.S. About Confronting a Constitutional Crisis
Sometimes you not only need to vote—you also need to vote with your feet.

The Era of Neoliberal U.S. Foreign Policy Is Over
But what comes next is very much up in the air.

Why the U.S. Should Close Its Overseas Military Bases
A growing movement is pushing back against long-held orthodoxy, arguing that it’s time to abandon these outposts and bring the troops home.

How to Succeed in the Foreign-Policy Blob
Some graduation advice for aspiring members of the foreign-policy establishment in the class of 2023.

Where the U.S. Went Wrong in Sudan
Khartoum now faces civil war. What does the U.S. have to do with it?

The Bid to Dethrone the Dollar
The greenback’s dominance is here to stay. Here’s why.

U.S.-Thai Relations Have An Alliance Problem
Regardless of election results, Bangkok will keep leaning toward China.

Adam Tooze: Why ‘Green Hydrogen’ Isn’t Just Hype
The renewable energy source shows promise, but there are major technological and commercial obstacles to using it more.

NATO’s Got a New Backbone
It’s time for the United States to prioritize members of the alliance that understand the Russian threat and are taking it seriously.

Chile’s Constitutional Whiplash
Progressives championed a rewrite. Now right-wing parties are in control.

Only Humility Can Save Us From AI
We may be reaching the point where something most unnatural to humans is the only thing that can avert disaster.

America’s ‘Full Faith and Credit’ Is Closer Than Ever to Defaulting
A debt default would tank U.S. credit and credibility around the world.

The Pandemic Is Over. What Does That Even Mean?
COVID-19 isn’t a pandemic anymore. It’s just a never-ending nightmare.

Americans Need to Acknowledge Their Unwritten Constitution
Understanding how politics and law work requires facing the realities of power.

The Global Race to Regulate AI
The intelligence may be artificial, but the regulation is real—or might be.

Paraguay’s Political Machine Triumphs Again
An anti-establishment candidate surged in the polls, but it’s still the Colorado Party’s game.

Is Decoupling Destabilizing the Global Economy?
Major speeches from Janet Yellen and Jake Sullivan double down on Biden’s strategy of linking U.S. national security with economic policy.

U.S. Foreign Policy Is About to Get Boring
The presidential election is around the corner—and that means “Scranton Joe” is about to take the international stage.

Debt Ceiling Knife Fight Threatens to Slash U.S. Credibility
And it’s coming just as Biden is set for a reassurance trip to Japan and Australia.

Brazil Is Ukraine’s Best Bet for Peace
The nonaligned country has strong diplomatic traditions—and its president is a pro at building global coalitions.

How GPT Mania Could Harm AI Innovation
The scramble to win the GPT race could divert essential resources from the development of more socially meaningful uses of AI.

Social Media Is Now a Financial WMD
The finance sector is adjusting to a world where a single tweet can trigger a catastrophic bank run.

How the Fed Became Everything (and Everything Became the Fed)
Two books peel back the curtain on the central bank—but miss why it misread the economy in the wake of the pandemic.

Adam Tooze: When National Security Trumps All
How the reordering of U.S. state concerns could threaten the world economy as we know it.

Biden Is Rewriting the Rules on Trade—and Americans Should Be Worried
The administration is doing a sneaky end run around the Inflation Reduction Act.

Petro Pushes to Restart Venezuela Talks
At Colombia’s urging, the United States gets explicit about sanctions relief to woo Maduro back to the negotiating table.

Washington Doesn’t Want You to Call It Decoupling
The United States hopes to redefine its economic relationship with China to prevail in the biggest strategic showdown of the century.

How Technology Is Changing Immigration Lines
Smile, you’re on camera. If you ever get there.

China Is Exploiting a U.S. Police Void in Latin America
Washington is the region’s top military partner but lags on civilian security.

The National Guard Does Top-Secret Things—and Far Too Many Other Things
The latest classified document leak highlights the overuse of military reserves.

Justice in Peru Is a Danger for Its Politics
The extradition of a former president is a big risk for an already teetering political system.

John Kerry: ‘The IRA Is Working on Overdrive’
The U.S. special envoy for climate responds to critics of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Why Lula’s Visit to Beijing Matters More Than Macron’s
The world’s economic dynamism is shifting to the global south.

A BRICS Currency Could Shake the Dollar’s Dominance
De-dollarization’s moment might finally be here.

America Has Dictated Its Economic Peace Terms to China
By refusing negotiation over China’s rise, the United States might be making conflict inevitable.

When Abortion Bans Are Too Popular to Overturn
A court may soon rule against El Salvador’s anti-abortion law. But will that make a difference?

Who Can Tell Native Stories?
A new book on Natives journeying across the Atlantic reaches the outer limits of what European-style academic research can accomplish.

Will Brazil Destroy the Amazon to Save the Climate?
Brazil’s mineral wealth could power the energy transition, but mining is a very dirty business.

Brazil Courts China to Boost Tech Ties
Lula believes Beijing can help—not hinder—Brasília’s industrial ambitions.

The Discord Leaker Was a Narcissist, Not an Ideologue
Comparisons between Jack Teixeira and self-declared whistleblowers are misplaced.

Why Maduro Is Courting Evangelicals Ahead of the 2024 Election
Their support could be key to Venezuela’s president regaining international recognition.

Colombia’s President Is a Difficult U.S. Ally—Except on Climate
Tensions are high between Colombia and the United States—but climate policy offers a way out.

A Partnership to Save the Planet
Cooperating on climate change could be the strategic guardrail the United States and China need to stabilize relations.

U.S. Right-Wingers Keep Confusing Culture War With Actual War
Russian and Chinese videos about their so-called manly forces are silly propaganda.

Calling Trump an Anti-Imperialist Is Nonsense
The anti-war left shouldn’t fall for this dishonest pitch.

Colin Kahl: ‘We’re All In’ on Supporting Ukraine
The Pentagon’s top policymaker on Kyiv’s forthcoming spring offensive, the impact of recent leaks, and the long-term challenge of China.

The 21st-Century Gold Rush
Will there be a new cold war over lithium?

How George Shultz Helped End the Cold War
The official biography of Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state reveals startling lessons for U.S. engagement today.

How Gamers Eclipsed Spies as an Intelligence Threat
The latest leak has profound implications for counterintelligence.

Larry Summers: It’s Dangerous When Everyone Is a China Hawk
The former U.S. treasury secretary on competition with China and why he puts the chances of a recession at 70 percent.

The Critical Minerals Club
The United States and allies aim to sidestep reliance on China for the materials needed for clean tech and advanced defense gear.

Adam Tooze: How Nike Made a Killing on Basketball Shoes
A branding deal with Michael Jordan in the 1980s has made billions of dollars for the company.

U.S.-Mexican Relations Fray Over Fentanyl
Republicans are hammering the Biden administration over the spike in fentanyl trafficking.

Argentina and the IMF Agree to Disagree
The fund has shown rare tolerance for the country’s unorthodox economic management.

The World Bank Is Still Failing the Poor
Poverty alleviation in the economically weakest parts of the world will require giving the poor a real seat at the table—which the World Bank has never done.

The World Bank Won’t Succeed Until the West Pulls Its Weight
The development bank doesn’t have enough money to achieve its goals—unless it gets more creative with its balance sheet.

Can South American Lithium Power Biden’s Battery Plans?
Washington needs lithium—but its history of intervention in the region complicates things.

Washington Needs a Democracy-First Approach to Haiti
The Global Fragility Act’s potential isn’t being used to the full.

It’s Time for the United States to Join the ICC
Strengthening the international justice system isn’t just the moral choice—it’s also the strategic one.

How AI Will Revolutionize Warfare
The new arms race in technology has no rules and few guardrails.

Will Washington Halt the Global Renaissance of Nuclear Power?
Hopes to slash emissions using nuclear energy are being dashed by U.S. regulators.

Can Brazil Negotiate an End to the War in Ukraine?
Lula’s envoy sits down with Putin in Moscow.

China Is Stuffing Congressional Inbox with Taiwan Hate Mail
And the tone is getting nastier after Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

The U.S. Needs an Economic War Council for China
If Washington wants peace in Asia, it must prepare for financial war.

The U.S.-China Fault Line Is Felt in the Academy
The breakdown in university exchanges threatens understanding and collaborative research.

Biden’s New Southern Border Plan Might Just Work
The balance of loathing from the left and right suggests the administration is on the right path.

Why the U.S. Right Doesn’t Like Free Markets Anymore
Strengthening the state’s economic role led to right-wing parties’ electoral success in Europe. The GOP is taking notes.

Biden’s State Department Needs a Reset
The administration’s diplomacy has underperformed—except at time-wasting talk about democracy.

What Taiwan Can Learn from Honduras’s Switch to China
Taipei’s last diplomatic stand may well be in the Americas.

The Weakest Link in Biden’s Foreign Policy?
Economist Adam Posen debates responses to his cover story critiquing America’s zero-sum economics.

Spain Pitches Closer EU-Latin America Ties
Madrid says the two regions stand to gain from uniting amid U.S.-China tensions.

DoD’s Making a List—and Checking It Twice
The Pentagon’s warfighting commands have sent billions in wish lists to Congress. Some lawmakers want to give them a lump of coal.

The U.S. Can Steal China’s Climate Leadership Crown
As Beijing slips on climate, Washington should step in.

American Consensus on Ukraine Has Fractured
Here’s how the war could play out in the 2024 presidential campaign.

The World Bank Must Do More With Less
The organization’s next president will have to tackle a growing range of issues with a shrinking capital base.

The U.S. Should Get Over Its Short War Obsession
No one wants long, grueling wars—but the consequences of impatience can be worse.

House Republicans Subpoena Blinken for Key Afghan Dissent Cable
The congressional grilling of the Biden administration over the Afghanistan fiasco is just getting started.

Some Rules of Global Politics Matter More Than Others
Norms are real, but there’s enormous room for interpretation.

Better Tech Regulations Can Save Democracy
China is exploiting a U.S. leadership void.

Peru’s First Female President Has Blood on Her Hands
Dina Boluarte’s term started late last year with plenty of promise—and immediately began to unravel.

Why Latin America Will Stay Nonaligned
As Argentina’s president prepares to meet with the U.S. president, the bloc’s consensus on Russia’s war in Ukraine will be put to the test.

Paraguay’s Rare Toss-Up Election
Anti-incumbent and pro-China sentiments are shaking up the country’s usually predictable political landscape.

America’s Zero-Sum Economics Doesn’t Add Up
Industrial policy and subsidies are nothing new and can be useful. But shutting off from the world will have consequences.

Aviators Make Biden an All-American Badass
The sunglasses are a symbol of loyalty, persistence—and the U.S. president.

Face Masks Are Our COVID-19 Memorial
America’s remaining maskers are a living emblem of a lost war.

Scoop: Turkey and Hungary Not Invited to Biden’s Big Democracy Summit
Biden spurned NATO allies that are dismantling their democracies.

López Obrador’s Reforms Threaten Mexican Democracy
Gutting Mexico’s election watchdog is part and parcel of democratic backsliding all over the Americas.

How AI Could Revolutionize Diplomacy
From ChatGPT to quantum computing, emerging technologies will offer new tools for peacemaking.

Adam Tooze: Why a Soft Landing Is Possible Even if It Defies Economic Theory
Fed inflation targets might need revising in order to avoid a recession.

The Real Risk of the China Select Committee
Why alienate the very people whose expertise and connections might help Congress understand the Chinese government?

Adam Tooze: The Non-Bailout Bailout
Bad management and bad luck prompted the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. What about other banks?

Biden’s Border Policies Face Pushback
Leaders and human rights advocates speak out against new U.S. barriers to asylum.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Biden’s Defense Budget
Republican lawmakers say it’s dead on arrival.

What the United States Does in Ukraine Won’t Matter in Taiwan
Despite the historical evidence, this bogus credibility claim still drives U.S. foreign policy.

Lost in Translation
What happens when academic exchanges between the world’s biggest superpowers collapse?

Chile’s Indigenous Heartland Ignites, Again
Leftist President Gabriel Boric has been reluctant to tackle arson in Mapuche communities to avoid alienating his base.

Is This TikTok’s Huawei Moment?
As bans of the video app pile up around the world, the question is how far the U.S.—and its allies—will go.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Arm Ukraine or Prepare for China? Wrong Question.
No matter the goal, Washington needs to quickly fill gaps in defense production.

America Is Still Losing the Information War
Washington urgently needs a 21st-century communication strategy.

Adam Tooze: What Is ESG Investing and Why the Sudden Backlash?
Some Republicans are calling it “woke capitalism.”

The Fight to Elevate Women Inside Brazil’s Government
Brazil trails many of its neighbors in trying to tackle gender parity. Advocates are pushing Lula to change that.

AUKUS Gets Ready for Prime Time
Experts worry the alliance is a “goat rodeo” in the making.

With Russian Support, Nicaragua Smothers Dissent
Managua’s crackdown on free expression is entering a new phase.

The Space Race’s Shifting Center of Gravity
The first lunar era was defined by geopolitics. The winners of the next will be those who can triumph in economic competition and rule-making.

America Is Again Failing Afghanistan’s Women—and Itself
The deteriorating status of women under Taliban rule is a strategic disaster for Washington.

Why the U.S. Trade Office No Longer Runs Trade
A historic mission to facilitate global commerce is out of step with the times.

America Is Too Scared of the Multipolar World
The Biden administration is striving for a unipolar order that no longer exists.

U.S. Conservatives Are Threatening Global Free Speech
Republican attacks on domestic media are undermining legal protections around the world.

Lula’s Out to Get Brazil’s Global Mojo Back
Like Biden, Brazil’s old-new president inherited a mess on the international stage.

U.S. Foreign Policy Must Consider the Global South
As long-marginalized countries seek to exert their power on the world stage, policymakers in Washington need a new framework.

When Pop Stars Make for Secret Weapons
From Elvis to BTS, militaries have long used celebrity soldiers for clout.

When Transitional Justice Falls Short
The abrupt end of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia and the ongoing proceedings in Colombia show how the process doesn’t always serve the victims.

Suriname’s Unrest Is a Warning
The world’s existing mechanisms to help developing countries through debt crises are coming up short.

The White House’s Case for Industrial Policy
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai counters critics who say the United States is fostering unfair competition.

Biden Wants to Reboot America’s Cyber Defenses
The United States is taking a more proactive approach to defending its cyberspace—and everyone else’s.

GOP Gears Up for Afghanistan Probe
Congress wants to know what happened to the guns and money the United States left behind.

The Silver Lining of Biden’s ‘New Protectionism’
U.S. investment in left-behind places doesn’t have to be a threat to Europe’s own economic prospects.

The Risks of the CHIPS Act No One’s Talking About
Governments are almost endlessly prone to throwing good money after bad.

The State Department’s Lack of Diversity Is Bad for U.S. Diplomacy
The Biden administration talks a good game, but it must do far more to promote a truly multiracial diplomatic corps.

The Conversation About Ukraine Is Cracking Apart
What government officials are saying in public, and private, is fascinating—and full of contradictions.

China’s Latin American Gold Rush Is All About Clean Energy
Beijing’s not after gold—but lithium.

The United States Has Never Recovered From the Falklands War
The conflict confirmed some of South America’s worst assumptions about its northern neighbor.

Mexico’s ‘Trial of the Century’
What a New York court case revealed about the war on drugs.

Why the U.S. Should Not Ban TikTok
The ban would hurt Americans—and there are better ways to protect their data.

Iraq’s Damage Created a Strain of Permanent American Defeatism
Accepting U.S. failures doesn't mean giving dictators a free hand.

Foreign-Policy Dissenters Deserve a Fair Hearing
Iraq’s upcoming anniversary is a reminder of the dangers of hawkish groupthink.

Jimmy Carter Was America’s Evangelical-in-Chief
His foreign-policy achievements were vast—and inseparable from his Christian faith.

What the Marvel Cinematic Universe Can Teach Us About Geopolitics
One is a fantasy with roots in World War II. The other boasts Spider-Man.

Why Is Adam Smith Still So Popular?
The 18th-century Scottish economist has come to play a uniquely controversial role in U.S. political and economic life.

In a World Awash in Satellites, Why Use Spy Balloons?
And what we know about China’s infamous eye in the sky.

Haiti Is on the Brink of State Failure
From criminal gangs to elite corruption, cascading ills are almost entirely homegrown.

Ortega Escalates His Repression
In an unprecedented step, Nicaragua moved to strip hundreds of dissidents and former political prisoners of their citizenship.

The Internal Rift Threatening Bolivia’s Left
Will the conservative opposition recover political power in one of Latin America’s leftist strongholds?

The Race Is on to Be NATO’S Next Chief
Jens Stoltenberg is set to step down this year, and the jockeying to replace him has already begun.

The U.S. Relies on Sanctions. Do They Even Work?
Inside the debate over the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on Russia.

Climate Change Looms Behind South America’s Heat Wave
The dry heat has worsened deadly forest fires in Chile and caused expensive droughts in Argentina’s and Uruguay’s agriculture sectors.

Biden Can’t Ignore America’s Role in Brazil’s Insurrection
As the U.S. president hosts Lula, they must commit to defending democracy together.

Why I Have Hope for Bipartisan Progress on U.S. Foreign Policy
Rhetoric aside, most congressional Republicans and Democrats agree on the key national security challenges the United States faces.

Spoiler Alert: Foreign Policy Won’t Be a U.S. Election Issue
The U.S. president’s State of the Union speech emphasized populism and protectionism, not global affairs. It must be election season already.

The United States and China Still Need to Talk About Nuclear Weapons
Biden and Blinken must not let the spy balloon controversy stand in the way of talks on nuclear crisis management and arms control.

How Truman Sold Americans on Going Hungry
In 1947, the United States sacrificed for the sake of a starving Europe.

Germany’s Scholz Calls for a New Approach to the Lithium Rush
On a visit to South America, the chancellor pitched partnership rather than exploitation.

China’s Tech Money Is Now Radioactive
Washington is increasingly concerned about China poaching U.S. technology.

Is There a Biden Doctrine?
A surprising set of grades for the 46th U.S. president’s foreign policy.

Can Lula Rein In Brazil’s Military?
The new president has a unique opportunity to address the biggest threat to his country’s democracy.

Biden Can Use a First Fix for a Broken Immigration System
Extending humanitarian parole helps encourage legal migration.

Brazil and Uruguay Give South American Trade an Adrenaline Shot
Members of the customs union Mercosur pledge to ease internal trade and explore new deals abroad.

Mexico’s Government Is on Trial in New York
A former Mexican security official’s corruption charges reveal the hidden politics of the drug trade.

Batteries Are the Battlefield
The next geopolitical contest may be over green technology, and China, for now, is poised to win control of those supply chains.

The Real Reason Behind Peru’s Political Crisis
It can be boiled down to a single historical factor: corruption.

The M1 Abrams Is the Right Tank for the Job in Ukraine
Sending American tanks now helps guarantee a safer world tomorrow.

Is Cold War Inevitable?
A new biography of George Kennan, the father of containment, raises questions about whether the old Cold War—and the emerging one with China—could have been avoided.

Muslim Activists Misunderstand Islam
Why the latest controversy over depictions of Mohammed was completely unnecessary.

The Crypto Dominoes Are Still Falling
The bankruptcy of Genesis shows the need for regulators to have teeth.

Could Fusion Overcome Public Opposition to Nuclear Power?
Recent progress might lead to a nuclear energy source that produces no high-level radioactive waste and presents fewer proliferation concerns.

Latin America’s New Left Meets Davos
Though they may seem out of place in the ultra-rich Swiss haven, Lula’s and Petro’s ambitious policy proposals depend on foreign investment.

Biden’s Midterm Report Card
We asked 20 experts to grade the administration’s foreign policy after two years in office.

The U.S. Lets Ambassador Posts Sit Empty for Years. China Doesn’t.
Crucial posts remain unfilled due to good old-fashioned Washington dysfunction.

Venezuela’s Modest Economic Liberalization Has Created a ‘Hellscape of Inequality’
As high-end stores open in Caracas, the poor are getting poorer.

Is Geopolitics Damaging Industry?
FP convenes a discussion with four top global executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

The World Is Done Waiting for Guaidó
The ouster of Venezuela’s would-be interim president has left U.S. policy in limbo, rapprochement in the air, and a legal mess for all.